


Royal Screw-Up

by Emily_Elizabeth_Fowl



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Eventual Parental Relationship Danny/Vlad, Ghost King Danny, June Exchange
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-12 02:34:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11152410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emily_Elizabeth_Fowl/pseuds/Emily_Elizabeth_Fowl
Summary: Madeline is tired of her husband's goofiness and forgetfulness. As a kind of a revenge she sleeps with their former best friend, Vlad Masters. Nine months later, Danny Fenton is born.No one but Maddie know about the truth.Will Danny discover it? Between the school and his newly acquired responsibilities he might have a bit of a hard time.





	1. CHAPTER 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Phantassel](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Phantassel).



She knew she was making a mistake even before she actually made it.  
  
But it was alright; Vlad was handsome and had a crush on her, and Jack… Would probably never know. Just as he never knew when was her birthday. She thought maybe the wedding would be something important enough to stick…. Considering it was big day in his life too… No such luck.  
  
He forgot the anniversary second year in a row and she was slowly getting more and more exasperated with his goofiness and forgetfulness.  
  
The Christmas Party was the perfect occasion. Vlad was hosting it, and he always sent them an invitation, even though they never showed up. Jasmine was little, someone had to stay with her, and it didn’t took much effort to make sure it was Jack.  
  
Her only concern was if she was going to get back to whole house and uninjured daughter. Who knows what might happen when the voice of reason a.k.a. her is out of town.  
  
She went to the party, she seduced Vlad, she had sex with him .  
  
Next morning she was out of the bed before he woke up.  
  
Nine months later a beautiful black-haired boy was born.  
  
Year later they didn’t get the invitation to Christmas Party.  
  
Jack still didn’t remember any of the anniversaries.

(*()*)

“Ugh! Why does Vlad have to be such a fruitloop!”  
  
For the last few weeks, it was the usual greeting Danny used while seeing his friends.  
  
They were slowly growing fed up with it.  
  
“What did he do this time.” Sam asked with flat voice, not even trying to sound interested. Tucker didn’t even look up from his video game.  
  
“When I was going home, not only there was all red lights, I was also attacked by Box Ghost, Skulker and Technus!” He answered, exasperated, throwing his backpack on the bed and stomping to the desk.  
  
“Are you completely sure it’s his work?” Tucker still seemed completely engrossed in his game. “That sounds like your usual Thursday.”  
  
“No, you don’t understand! I know it was him!”  
  
His friends exchanged a worried glance. Ever since Vlad became the Major and this time he stole Infinimap from Far Frozen, Danny was growing more and more suspicious of the old man. Even though more than half of the things he accused him of were mere coincidence or something that happened multiple times before.  
  
Like when Skulker got new weapons, or ghosts’ timing was so off they attacked at once, or when some bad luck happened… Because yeah, Vlad was the Major, but they were pretty sure he did not have power over street lights.  
  
“Danny, I think you should calm down a bit.” Sam said finally. “Not everything in this town revolves around Vlad.”  
  
The halfa just huffed. Sometimes his stubbornness was admirable. This wasn’t one of these times.  
  
The man was getting more and more reckless, cruel beyond all levels, without any clear reason. But it didn’t mean that every bad thing happening in the city was his fault…  
  
Screams erupted outside the window, and the team was up and ready before even Danny’s ghost sense kicked in.  
  
There it was, high in the purple sky – Fright Knight had been freed from his pumpkin once again.  
  
“Are you still saying Vlad’s got nothing to do with that?” Danny asked dryly before transforming and jumping out the window.  
  
Another worried glance later they followed his suit, using stairs instead.

Danny and Fright Knight had been fighting above the abandoned park. It wasn’t entirely clear if the people just ran away or if they were trapped in the nightmare dimension. Either way, it was bad.  
  
But just as Sam and Tucker were to enter the fight, the Soul Shredder cut through Danny’s left leg, causing him to momentarily lose control over his flight. Surprisingly, Fright Knight didn’t use the opportunity to hurt him more, but what was even more shocking was that the Fright Knight even had the opening.  
  
Soul Shredder was supposed to transport people into a realm of their worst nightmares; They saw it happen multiple times. Why was Danny still there, in front of them?  
  
The ghost boy was looking as surprised as the rest of them, looking between the sword, himself and his surroundings.  
  
“Alright,” he finally said with a sour expression. “I knew my life sucked, but a real nightmare? Seriously?”  
  
Fright Knight appeared to be content. He sheathed his sword and bowed slightly.  
  
“I’m at your service, My Lord.” He said.  
  
Danny’s eyes grew wider. Was he dreaming? This couldn’t possibly be real!  
  
He wasn’t one to forego this kind of opportunity though.  
  
“Umm… Free all the people you caught?”  
  
He didn’t expect the ghost to follow his order, obviously it had to be some kind of a tri-  
  
Around dozen of people appeared suddenly, most of them mid-scream. The second they noticed they were back in the reality, it was as if a charm was lifted and in just few minutes they were all gone.  
  
Danny feared his jaw would fall off entirely.  
  
“Okay, what’s it all about?” Sam butted in, gathering the attention from both ghosts. Tucker stood beside her like a statue with no motoric functions. “How did you get out of the pumpkin? Why did you suddenly decide to serve Danny instead of fighting with him? I don’t understand any of this!”  
  
The halfa turned back to Fright Knight and pointed his thumb at Sam.  
  
“I agree with her. What is it all about?”  
  
The ghost was looking as uncomfortable as one might get, nearly squirming under Danny’s gaze. If he didn’t know better, Danny would say he was… Nervous…  
  
Something smelled fishy there. As the silence continued, Danny decided to resolve the mystery no matter what. He looked directly into the Fright Knight’s eyes.  
  
“You said you’re at my service. Then I order you to answer that question: what’s going on?”  
  
“It is hard to explain, My Lord .” The ghost turned his head, incapable of keeping the eye contact. “It is a delicate matter, and very dire problem. We have been advised not to let you know anything about it. I do apologize, My Lord, for this is something you will understand very shortly, but not yet.”  
  
One thing Danny hated more than Vlad, was keeping information out of his reach.  
  
If he wasn’t allowed to know that, he would try to siphon any other info he could get out of the ancient ghost.  
  
“Alright, so, how does-“ he tried to ask, but the siren of the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle interrupted him. “Change of plans, questions later. Can you mask your ecto-signature?”  
  
The ghost shook his head.  
  
“I have found my energy levels to be too high to properly mask from the ghost hunters’ devices.”  
  
“Oh, that’s just great!” Danny sighed, raising his arms in annoyance. And then he noticed the thermos still in his hand. “Hey, Fright Knight?”  
  
“Yes, My Lord?”  
  
“I’ve got an idea. You’re not gonna like it, but it’ll work. Are you in?”  
  
“Yes, My-“  
  
The ghost got sucked into the Fenton Thermos before he was able to finish the sentence. Danny landed quickly, transforming before his feet touched the ground, passing the thermos to Sam, and all that right on time – when his parents entered the park – with tires screeching and siren blasting – there was not one sign that the ghosts had ever been there. Well, not counting the slightly scorched trunks, but that wasn’t to be helped.  
  
And if he was actually floating less than an inch above the grass to avoid putting any additional pressure to his hurt leg, who was to notice?  
  
“Kids!” His father shouted as he jumped out of the vehicle. “Have you seen a very powerful ghost and that filthy menace around here?”  
  
The whole trio shook their heads. They did it so often, they didn’t even think about it. Normally, they would stay a bit to distract the hunters from the obvious truth, but today they’ve got bigger problems. And so they turned around, trying to escape as quickly as they could without drawing any unnecessary attention. It would get very problematic if the Fentons were to believe they were overshadowed.  
  
“If you see them, call us immediately!” Danny’s mother called after them, already investigating nearby trees with some sort of ghost-tracking device.  
  
“Ghost nearby.” The device said flatly.  
  
Danny sped up, limping slightly until he was out of sight.  
  
(*()*)  
  
They gathered in Sam’s bedroom, for safety. It was the furthest away they could get from Danny’s house, and her security had a really strict orders from her parents to never let them through the gate. Well, actually the order was about all Fentons, but Danny had invisibility powers.  
  
Besides, her parents were out on some sort of convention, again, so she had the whole house to herself.  
  
They settled behind the ecto-signature-blocking shield Danny and Tucker whipped together from parts they managed to smuggle out of the lab. It was a challenge to make a shield that would cover up the presence of a ghost, but would still allow Danny to go in and out as he pleases.  
  
Once Danny’s leg was wrapped up and they were sure it was safe, Danny released Fright Knight.  
  
He was in Phantom form, Sam had wrist rays ready, Tucker was at the PDA, ready to change the shield’s parameters in a second.  
  
But the ghost simply shook his head, getting rid of the dizziness, and settled calmly on the floor.  
  
“Are you alright?” Danny asked, not quite believing his own two eyes.  
  
“Yes, My Lord.” The servant didn’t look bloodthirsty, or anything… “It was perhaps a little bumpy, but I do understand the importance of your actions.”  
  
The trio exchanged glances. Something big was going on, they all could feel it. If a ghost wasn’t attacking Danny with all his might, there were higher powers at stake.  
  
“Alright,” Danny said at last. “How does this whole ‘lord’ stuff works? Why now of all times?”  
  
Fright Knight didn’t look half as uncomfortable as he did when Danny first asked him a similar question.  
  
“We’ve been granted with a vision of possible future. I cannot tell you any details, but we, as in the ghosts of Ghost Zone, have decided on the best course of action. It is currently being incorporated as we speak.”  
  
The teens were on alert.  
  
“Are you planning on harming the town’s people?” Danny asked, his hands itching to form an ectoblast.  
  
“No, My Lord.” If the ghost noticed the tension, he decided to act like he didn’t. “None of them are in any danger. We wish to stop bigger catastrophe from happening, and in order to do so, we must keep everyone out of harm’s way.”  
  
Danny tensed, feeling his friends’ eyes flickering toward him. They all were thinking about the same event. Though only he knew what exactly happened in the future, they knew enough to be terrified of it. And now apparently the whole Ghost Zone was aware too.  
  
“I… Understand.” Danny said at last. “Then, there will be no more attacks?”  
  
Maybe he would be able to get something out of this whole mess?  
  
“Some attacks will be necessary for the plan to work. They will not cause any harm, but you will be expected to deal with them.”  
  
Apparently not. Great. He didn’t like the situation one bit, but the ghost was behaving calmly. Also the promise of no harm to citizens was tempting… Danny sighed heavily. If that was all he was getting on the matter, he could get some additional information on the Ghost Zone.  
  
“Who freed you?” Sam asked.  
  
“I have been woken up by need to serve my new Master.” The ghost grated her with an answer this time around.  
  
“Way to avoid answering the actual question.” Sam sneered.  
  
“As I previously stated, I am incapable of answering this particular question. Perhaps if you asked about something I wasn’t forbidden to say-“  
  
Sam was getting more and more angry with every word, and if there was one thing you would never want to experience, it was Sam Manson being pissed at you.  
  
“Perhaps if you weren’t such a-!”  
  
“If you’re out,” Tucker interrupted before things got worse. “Then what about Pariah Dark? Is he free to? Are you still under his command?”  
  
“No.” The ghost looked as glad at avoiding being screamed at as the boys. “Pariah Dark has lost his title power over Ghost Zone when he was defeated by the halfas.”  
  
That little snippet of information brought Danny back into the conversation.  
  
“No way!” he exclaimed loudly. “Don’t tell me the fruitloop got something out of this whole fiasco! It was his fault Pariah got out in the first place, and now he got the power for it?!”  
  
He looked like smoke might start getting out of his nostrils. This freaking fruitloop, always meddling…  
  
“He did took part in the defeat of former King.” Fright Knight tried to calm him down.  
  
“Took part, my ass!” It clearly didn’t work. Danny has gotten even more angry. “He freed him, that’s all of his involvement!”  
  
“You may not be aware, My Lord, but he was the one who secured the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep and took you back to Amity Park.”  
  
“To get brownie points from my mother!”  
  
“While I do not know about that, his rejection of power and title coming from defeating former king had been influenced by your mother.”  
  
That took Danny by surprise. Vlad, giving away power, willingly? Fright Knight didn’t look like he was kidding, but on the other hand, he could’ve been. It just didn’t sound right. Vlad was doing everything to gain Maddie as his wife and Danny as his son! To pass an opportunity to grow stronger… That was so unlike him.  
  
“What do you mean, his rejection?” Danny asked finally.  
  
“I mean that I have visited him not a day ago and he declined any connection with Ghost Zone’s royal ectoplasm. Even though, by the experience rule, he would be the one fit to rule.”  
  
The boy couldn’t answer. Every word he managed to form in his throat, didn’t make it out. Vlad… Rejected being the King of the Ghost Zone. He was too baffled to say anything. Why?!  
  
“Why?” Sam asked, as if she could read in his mind.  
  
“The reason he’s given was that he wishes to make Madeline fall in love with him, and to do so it is not necessary for him to gather any more power in the ghost realm.” Fright Knight did not state his opinion on that decision, but from his expression it was clear what he was thinking. What kind of person would decline such a honor?  
  
Tucker focused on completely different part of the news.  
  
“Does that mean Danny is the king now?” he asked, excitement barely contained in his voice.  
  
Dead silence had fallen.  
  
“What?” Everyone was looking at the boy. “It’s important question!”  
  
“It… Is right.” The servant answered, clearly uncomfortable again. “In the eyes of the law, Phantom and Plasmius are the ones with the right to the throne, and as Plasmius rejected the offer…”  
  
Danny backed up, limping a bit. He raised his hands defensively, moving back until he hit the wall.  
  
“No way!”  
  
He was looking frantically between the ghost and his friends, begging for help. He was a student and a ghost hunter in Amity Park, he barely got time to sleep! Why would he want to be king? Well, the future attacks were supposed to be harmless, but Fright Knight said himself he would still need to resolve them!  
  
“What if I decline that offer too?” It hurt him to agree with Vlad on any subject, but he had no time for royal duties!  
  
“If none of the rightful descendants takes upon himself the duty, the next in the queue is the Council of Observants-“  
  
“Danny, you gotta do this!” Sam interrupted, no one surprised at that. It was a common knowledge that Observants were a bunch of morons, and if they got the power to rule the Ghost Zone officially…  
  
They did technically rule during the first period of Pariah Dark’s sleep, and it was absolute chaos! Who knows what would they do if there was no one threatening their position…  
  
“But I can’t!” The halfa whined, feeling he has already lost that battle. He wasn’t going to leave the Ghost Zone in danger! As a halfa, he was obligated to protect both humans and ghosts. Even though the ghosts were often the ones to cause havoc, he never once hurt them, he just removed them from the dangerous environment and transported back to their home dimension. Yeah, they didn’t always leave unscathed, but it was still better option than what would have happened if any of the ghost hunters got their hands on them.  
  
“Danny, you know we can’t leave Observants alone…” Tucker tried to persuade him, clearly unaware the decision has been already made.  
  
“What would I need to do?” the boy asked, resigned to the fact he would be getting even more responsibility than he was handling currently.  
  
“The King’s objective is to protect his people from harm, mostly.” Fright Knight answered. He also knew what the final decision was. With that knowledge he has been much calmer. He didn’t want the Observants to rule any more than the teens. After all it was the Council who trapped him in the pumpkin the first time around.  
  
“So basically doing exactly what I was doing up to now?” Maybe the deal wasn’t that bad? If no one but ghosts knew about it, it would be bearable. Also, the ghosts would need to respect him, and maybe they would even lay off the attacks for a bit? “That doesn’t sound that bad.”  
  
“It is not. The position holds much power, but it’s fairly simple in itself.”  
  
“That explains how a guy like Pariah Dark could hold up so long.” Sam commented with her usual dry humor.  
  
“At first, Pariah was a good ruler.” The servant turned fully toward her. “Before he grew power-hungry, he was one of the most compassionate and kind rulers in the history.”  
  
Danny paled. Tucker and Sam unconsciously moved closer to him. If even the most cruel ghost they have ever saw started out as a good guy… What if the Dark Dan timeline could still happen?...  
  
Knight Fright seemed to pick up on their fear.  
  
“He was a young ghost, his family was still alive on Earth,” he added as an explanation. “ When they died, he was devastated. He sacrificed every second he had to find a way to ensure their ghosts would show up in the Ghost Zone. But to do that, he needed power. And so he started war after war, gaining ground, power and experience. But it still wasn’t enough for him, he wanted more and more… Until he finally deemed what he had enough, and attempted to bring his family to the Zone… He accidentally set them free in the Spirit World, never to be back again…”  
  
The halfa was getting paler and paler with every word. That story sounded more and more like his…  
  
“I changed my mind,” he said. “I’m not risking that!”  
  
His friends understood where he was coming from… But they didn’t understand the final decision.  
  
“Danny,” Sam started, ” You know it won’t happen!”  
  
“How can you be sure!” Danny shouted right back at her. “You were there only for a moment! You didn’t see what he did! You didn’t see what he’s capable of! If he breaks free, there’s nothing that can stop him! “  
  
His eyes were itching, he knew they were starting to get glossy. They didn’t understand!  
  
He would gladly escape, phase through the floor or the roof, but he personally set the ghost shield. He was trapped in one room with his friends and his insecurities, and he’s got no way out.  
  
“Calm down mate,” Tucker tried to calm him down. “We’re not forcing you to do anything. But consider the scenario where Observants are ruling…”  
  
Ahh, so the choice was simple. On one hand, Observants get the power and both realms are doomed. On the other, Dark Dan timeline happens with more or less the same consequences and not only both the realms but also all the alternative versions of them are doomed. Why was it always like that. Why couldn’t Danny have to face a “cornflakes or sandwich” choice even once?  
  
No, whenever he had a choice it was always “catastrophe vs even bigger catastrophe”. Guess that’s just his life now…  
  
“And now consider a scenario when you’re ruling!” Tucker noticed his breathing slowed down and he clearly felt more secure. “Sure, the risk is there, and there’s a possibility you’ll destroy the whole world as we know it, but hey, the first few years will be great!”  
  
Danny regretted blinking in that exact moment for the rest of his life, as he never get to know what part of Tucker’s body Sam hit, exactly.  
  
“Guys, alright, I got it,” it wouldn’t be the first time he had to do something he didn't want to for the ‘greater good’. Someday, it was going to get him killed.  
  
Well, technically he already died, but who would care about details like that.  
  
“What is your decision, My Lord?”  
  
Crap, he nearly forgot Fright Knight even was there! Good thing he wasn't the enemy, at least for now. Though with how he was swinging his Soul Shredder during the fight before...  
  
“Why did you fought with me before?” A sudden curiosity struck Danny. “You only started all that ‘Lord' bullshit when you landed a hit on me.”  
  
If he didn't know from the personal experience that it was hard to do for ghosts, he would swear the servant was blushing.  
  
“I had to be sure, My Lord.”  
  
“Sure of what?” Sam chirped in. Obviously she would get into the Suspicion Train right away, she loved that stuff. “Is this all some kind of elaborate trap?”  
  
“Calm down, Daughter of Nature,” Tucker snickered at the nickname and this time Danny saw clearly his arm getting hit. “It is not a trap.”  
  
But Sam was in her interrogation mode, it would take more than that to calm her down.  
  
“We do not wish to cause harm to our Lord. While most of the ghosts may seem antagonistic, it is only our nature. At any given moment we would all choose Phantom over Observants. We can see his potential as a King.”  
  
It was a really weird day, with surprises upon surprises and - yeah, you guessed it - even more surprises.  
  
Danny felt like nothing could surprise him further.  
  
And then the time fucking stopped.  
  
He looked around, the already familiar weight of time medallion sitting firmly at his shoulders. He was the only one awake this time around, except for Clockwork.  
  
“What, came to tell me what a terrible idea is to have me as the king?” He said expecting the ghost to nod. Why else would he be there than to avoid the terrifying future?  
  
“You taking the crown is an important part of this timeline, one that must not be tampered with.” He found the Ghost saying instead. “I'm here to make sure you make the right decision.”  
  
Okay, so maybe saying that nothing could surprise him anymore was bit of an early call, but he seriously would expect Clockwork of all people to be rational. Apparently he wished for too much of an miracle. Well, the ghost was in one third an inexperienced action-thirsty child and in one third a mischievous old man. What else could you expect from such a combination?  
  
“So… I won’t turn into a tyrant and destroy the whole universe as we know it?”  
  
If he could at least get a confirmation, a balsam for his worries…  
  
“There is at least 36% of universes when you turn violent in first few years of your rule,” Clockwork said instead. “But there's also 28% where you live long and grow to be the greatest king the Ghost Zone has ever had.”  
  
“And what about the other… Like, around 40%?” Danny asked, genuinely curious.  
  
“Well,” this one word convinced him he didn't want to know the answer. “There's 14% where you ended up living a long life, turning evil further down the line, 20% where you end up entirely dead after a hard battle in first decade and in the 2% you didn't took the position the world ended in less than a month.”  
  
Yep, he definitely did not want to know that.  
  
“Are you saying I end up destroying the world in over half of posibilities??”  
  
“72%, yes.”  
  
Yeah, anything he did…  
  
“Wait, what about the times I didn't took the position and the world didn't end?” There had to be some of these, right?  
  
“Every time you managed to decline the offer, the delicate balance of the Ghost Zone got crushed under the Observants’ rule.”  
  
Danny blinked slowly. So he had no choice altogether? Had he not choose being the king, the world would end surely. Had he choose it, and had he ruled, there was half a chance the world would end.  
  
“So the only chance to prevent the nearly inevitable catastrophe is to agree?”  
  
“You know I can't say anything directly, young one.”  
  
Ahh yes, Danny almost forgot about that aspect of Clockwork’s personality - the sassiness.  
  
But before he could actually say anything, the Time Medalion was taken off his chest, and the Time Master left the Realm of Living.  
  
“But how can we be sure!” Sam attacked. Danny already forgot what was the argument about. Something about a trap?  
  
“Sam, calm down.” How many times was he going to make the same decision? Providing him with steady flow of new facts was only delaying all that commotion even further. Turning to the Fright Knight, he said: “I've made my decision.”  
  
The servant looked at him with mischief in his barely-visible eyes.  
  
“Is this answer also going to change, My Lord?”  
  
His friends looked at him weirdly.  
  
“Are you sure?” Tucker asked, even though he didn't know what Danny's final idea was.  
  
“I've got a quick visit from good fairy.” Danny joked, completely aware only he and his friends (and obviously Clockwork, who was clearly also very invested in the conversation) would catch the reference. “I was informed it is vital for me to take the throne, unless I want to destroy the world.”  
  
The Fright Knight looked serious all of a sudden again.  
  
“If that is the case, there is a set of traditional ceremonies, that need to-”  
  
“None of this bullshit.” Danny interrupted quickly. “I’m gonna do this, but only because I have to. None of this redundant ceremonies. What is the quickest one to get the shit done?”  
  
Fright Knight seemed quite hesitant to give him the answer.  
  
“The ceremonial is quite important in this case, avoiding fullfiling it might result in-”  
  
“Can it be done right now, right here, or not?” the halfa gritted through his teeth. He was going to bind himself rather permanently to a powerful position in a government (of a kind) in a country where he himself wasn't ingenious. This spelled “troubles” with giant bright green glowing letters. And it wasn't the “go ahead” green, it was the “watch out I'm going to burn you with my acidity” green.  
  
“It is possible to compress all of the traditional paperwork to the minimum, but-”  
  
“Do it. Right now.” _Before I change my mind again_ was left unsaid but loud and clear like he shouted it out.  
  
The servant took out the Crown of Fire.  
  
“Waaaaait!” Sam pointed at it while moving away from It as far as possible. “Wasn't that thing on Pariah’s head last time we saw it? You know, the same Pariah Dark Danny stuffed in a coffin?”  
  
“Yeah,” Tucker chipped in. “How did you get it out?”  
  
“Observants have been able to obtain it without having to physically open the Sarcophagus. I have secured it before they get down to crowning one of their own-“  
  
“So, basically,” the geek was looking at him weirdly. “You stole it?”  
  
“I…” to say he was speechless would be an understatement. He was gaping like a fish freshly out of the water, desperately trying to steer back from where the flow of the conversation brought him. “As they have only asked Plasmius and denied even trying talking to you, My Lord, it was a violation of the rules. I did not steal the crown, more appropriate would be the term re-stole. You cannot steal what rightfully belongs to you.”  
  
“I like him!” Sam declared suddenly. Danny could swear he saw Fright Knight sighing with relief.  
  
“So, what do I do?” the halfa asked, focusing all the attention on himself again. “Do I just put it in and it’s done, or what?”  
  
The servant actually chuckled.  
  
“It serves a great part in the process, yes. But there’s also an ancient vow you need to recite to unlock the power of the Crown.”  
  
“Alright! What’s the vow?”  
  
“As a security mechanism, it is essential for the king-to-be to-“  
  
“Ugh,” Danny felt his head slowly splitting over, risking his mind leaking out of it and getting a headache. “Five words or less from now on, Frighty.”  
  
That made the knight think for a moment.  
  
“You must write it yourself,” he articulated slowly, counting each word on his hand.  
  
“But you stole the crown,” Sam said. “Aren’t Observants on our tails right now?”  
  
“That makes our schedule really tight, what’ll make it hard to somehow fit this whole poem-making.” Tucker added helpfully.  
  
“It’s for safety, My Lord.” He counted again. “Each King knows his Pledge. Personalized password, if you prefer.”  
  
“But how am I gonna do this!” Danny whined. “For all we know Observants might be just out the window, ready to go inside whenever!”  
  
“Then I suggest to hurry.”  
  
For five words said in a completely flat voice, the sassiness was literally overflowing. The pain of this burn only added to Danny’s desperation.  
  
“But I can’t even rhyme!”  
  
“Ekhem.”  
  
“Sam!” The sudden inspiration stricken him. “You’re a goth! You can write a poem, right?”  
  
“I can’t.” She said simply. “But I do know someone who can.”  
  
Danny looked at her with mildly annoyed expression.  
  
“And you’re sure they will be willing to write a coronation poem for a halfa King of the Ghost Zone?”  
  
“She meant me, Danny.”  
  
And now he felt stupid. He was sure his cheeks colored a bit too. How could he not know about such a thing after years of being friends with Tucker? Should he apologize?  
  
“You can write a poem?” He asked instead.  
  
“Yeah, sure.” His slightly sour expression melted away. He turned to the Fright Knight. “How long is it supposed to be?”  
  
“Traditionally, two to six lines. There was hundred once, but…”  
  
“Let’s settle for four then!” Danny wanted it all to end as soon as possible. He got other stuff to do, and with all that time they already wasted, who knows what was going on in the city. “I’ll have to say it just once, right?”  
  
“Yes, My Lord.”  
  
Sam gathered some pens and paper and put all that on her bed, where all of them were gathered.  
  
“Glittery pens?” Tucker complained.  
  
“As sparkling as your personality,” Sam retorted, silencing any further protests.  
  
“Alright, let’s get this baby rolling!” The geek changed the topic, carefully choosing the dark purple pen. “How do we start it?”  
  
“Let’s start with describing what’s that,” the goth proposed. “Like, this is a coronationary pledge, or something.”  
  
“Is there even a word coronationary?” Tucker wondered, gaining for that a smack up his head.  
  
“That’s perfect!” Danny exclaimed, ignoring their bickering. “How did you describe my ectoplasm earlier, Frighty?”  
  
“I believe I said royal,” it was a miracle the Fright Knight not only didn’t attack him for that ridiculous nickname, but even responded to that. If that’s what being king was all about, Danny was in for a really good fun.  
  
“Exactly!” Grabbing a pen, he quickly wrote his idea down in the brightest glitteriest pinkest pink to have ever existed. “This is a royal pledge. One down, three to go!”  
  
“Alright! Leave a free line, we’ll go with the abab rhymes!” On the empty looks of his friends Tucker added, “That means the first one will rhyme with third one, and second with fourth.”  
  
“But what rhymes with pledge?” Sam wondered.  
  
“I dunno, google it.” Danny shrugged. He did say he sucked at finding rhymes.  
  
Tucker was already on it, surfing through the PDA.  
  
“It says here… Sledge!”  
  
“Isn’t that a hammer? Tuck, why would Danny use a hammer in his pledge?”  
  
“I don’t know, maybe to hit the evil ghosts? If he was able to rise it, that is.”  
  
Both of his friends snickered, and Danny had a bit of a hard time trying to hit them both, at the same time, equally hard.  
  
“Focus, guys. What else is there?”  
  
“Hedge.”  
  
“To do what, keep the evil outside?” Sam seemingly decided she was going to make a sarcastic remark on every proposition.  
  
“Nah, edge would fit to this definition better.” Tucker supplied. “Like, keeping them at their toes.”  
  
“And where in that frigging sentence is an edge?”  
  
“I think it fits well,” Fright Knight commented for the first time since they sat down. “Halfa is on the edge. One between ghosts and humans.”  
  
Danny scribbled down _for the one who stands at the edge._  
  
“I think the second line should be describing the purpose of the pledge?” Blank stares met the halfa eyes. “Like, we’ve got _this is a royal pledge_ and _for the one who stands at the edge_ , we need to make second line the extension of the pledge.”  
  
“To unlock the crown’s flames.” The servant proposed, still managing to keep in the limit.  
  
“I like that!” Sam commented.  
  
“It does have a nice ring to it,” Tucker added, grabbing the paper and finally making use of his pen. “Now, what rhymes with flames?”  
  
“Maybe we should focus more on the purpose and then find a rhyme? Danny, what do you pledge?”  
  
The halfa looked lost. What did he pledge? During all that commotion with being king and having to do so to avoid the end of the world, he never once thought about what would that mean to him, personally.  
  
“What do you swear?” Fright Knight tried to help.  
  
“Swear!” Tucker shouted. “That’s a good lead, it rhymes with flames. What do you swear to do, Danny?”  
  
“I don’t know,” the boy shrugged. “What I usually do, I guess.”  
  
“You mean protect the innocent?” The goth supplemented, taking the paper from Tucker's hands. “And to protect the innocent swears!” She presented.  
  
“What the- You had black pen all that time?!” Tucker was resentful. “And you kept it all to yourself?”  
  
“Yup. Gotta keep that goth’s image.” Her smile was the sassiest Danny ever saw on her face. But soon he was distracted by Tucker.  
  
“Danny, don’t give her back the pinkest pink!”  
  
“Why?” He asked, completely perplexed.  
  
“Two words, dude. Anish Kapoor.” The geek said as if that explained everything. Judging by Sam’s laugh, it really did.  
  
“Alright guys, no time for jokes,” Danny said, a bit bitter he was left out of the joke. “Observants can be here any moment, let’s get it over with.”  
  
He took the paper with the pledge and stood in front of Fright Knight, who already had the crown ready.  
  
“Are you sure, My Lord?” He asked once more. “The process might be painful…”  
  
“I survived getting electrocuted halfway to death, I think I’ll manage.”  
  
The ghost did look a bit doubtful, but he put the Crown on halfa’s head anyway.  
  
Danny smothered the page and started reading.  
  
“This is a royal pledge, to unlock the crowns flames, for the one who stands at the edge, and to protect the innocent swears.”  
  
For a moment nothing happened.  
  
“See? It’s not that-“ Danny started, but then the metal of the crown started flashing neon green.  
  
The little flames grew in size, doubled, then tripled, until they were almost brushing the room’s ceiling.  
  
The crown started getting hot, then even hotter, until it was almost unbearable. His hands itched to grab it and throw it away, but the rational part of his mind kept reminding him it would only force him to go through that twice.  
  
“It’s not that big deal,” he said in so small voice it was barely hearable. The three faces literally screaming _I told you so_ didn't disappear. He decided to distract them. “So, am I a King yet?”  
  
“Yes, My Lord.”  
  
“Great!” he slowly made his way toward control panel of the ghost shield, limping slightly and flexing his joints at the way there. “I’ve still got some patrolling to do though.”  
  
“Danny!” Sam covered the distance between them in two long steps, grabbed Danny's arm and shook him firmly. “You're in no position to go patrolling now! You're hurt!”  
  
“I'm fine,” the way he stumbled after breaking the contact screamed otherwise. “I'm just a bit tired. After all it's already-”  
  
“Thirty seven after midnight,” Tucker helped him out.  
  
“Thirty seven after- holy shit, it's so late? It’s ages after my curfew!”  
  
Danny were a blur when they made contact with the control panel. Sam shifted closer, put her hand at his shoulder. Tucker came closer as well.  
  
“Danny,” he said. “We got it, mate. Go home. Sleep a little. Tomorrow's school day. We’ll do the patrolling.”  
  
“I will assist, My Lord.”  
  
Danny looked at them, shifting from one leg to another as he took in face after face.  
  
“Alright,” he gave in. His friends exchanged a glance. Him agreeing without putting much of a fight was the greatest sign of his fatigue.  
  
But apparently getting some rest wasn't his destiny that night.  
  
Coming back to an empty house was causing an uncomfortable tingle in his guts. He barely stepped through the door of his room when a glassy-looking ball with his sister’s head inside appeared in front of him.  
  
“Jazz!” He shouted, mentally congratulating himself on not detransforming once he was inside. It would made him look stupid, if he had to transform twice in a row. “Are you alright? Was that Spectra again? Whose butt do I need to kick?”  
  
“Calm down, little brother, it's just a communicating device” she laughed and said something he didn't quite caught to somebody offscreen. “I'll be… Away for some time.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“It is important to the Plan, Danny.”  
  
That immediately put him in alert mode.  
  
“Where are you? Who took you? I'll kick their ass! They didn't hurt you, did they?”  
  
“As I said, calm down,” he couldn't help it, her voice had a soothing effect, almost like she…  
  
“Are you a ghost?!” He screeched, his falling eyelids fluttering wide open. They wouldn't dare to hurt his sister… would they?  
  
“Danny, It's alright, I'm alright and kicking. I came willingly.”  
  
But Danny was no longer capable of shutting up…  
  
“Did they threaten you? Force you to come? Where are you? I'll kick their asses! Just tell me their name, they had to scream it out at some point. Who kidnapped you? Are you-”  
  
… At least until his mouth got zipped, sealing his lips together.  
  
It didn't stop him from trying, though.  
  
“Danny, did you accept? Are you a King?”  
  
He felt like in some kind of role reversal show. He slowly motioned to the burning crown, still placed at the top of his head.  
  
“Oh, right, silly me!” Her tone of voice was apologetic but the sly smiley on her face was telling Danny it was just a trick. Probably to distract him from-  
  
“Is that a library?” He quite literally ripped the zipper open. “Ghost Writer kidnapped you!”  
  
She let out an exasperated sigh.  
  
“No, Danny.” She repeated for the umpteenth time in this talk. “The ghosts explained their plan to me and I agreed to it.”  
  
The halfa was staring at her, baffled.  
  
“They explained it to you?” He whined in slightly accusatory voice. “They didn't even explained it to me!”  
  
“It is important for you to make choices out of compassion and not just according to the Plan.”  
  
If they were in a cartoon, Danny’s eyes would resemble two gigantic question marks in that moment.  
  
“How am I going to make right choices,” he articulated slowly. “If I don't know what the right choices are? What if I do something wrong?”  
  
“The plan isn't set in stone, it's elastic and can adapt to your choices.” She explained. “I cannot reveal much more than that, except for one advise.”  
  
“What is it?”  
  
“Go talk to Vlad.”  
  
Danny spluttered for a second before he found his voice again.  
  
“That fruiTLOOP? aRe yoU INSanE?!”  
  
“I don't have much time, little brother, and neither do you.” She started fidgeting nervously with the hem of her sleeve. “You of all people should know that everybody’s deserving a second chance. Go talk to him, right now, and offer him some compassion. Put yourself in his shoes.”  
  
“But he started it! He attacked first!” He wasn't going to just comply without putting up some arguments.  
  
Sadly, his argument weren't really good.  
  
“Then you'll be the one to end it. Offer him peace, show him he has someone he can be himself with.” Her eyes got a bit glassy. She knew something Danny didn't. Was Vlad sick? Was he dying? Could He prevent it? He did swear to protect innocents, but the old fruitloop was hardly innocent....  
  
“Promise me you'll talk to him, Danny.”  
  
“Alriiiiiight…”  
  
“Without a fight.”  
  
Danny rolled his eyes. They weren't exactly best buddies. They were enemies. They fought. That's what enemies do.  
  
“If he doesn't start first.” He settled for the safer option.  
  
“You're the King of the Ghost Zone now, behave more responsibly.” She scolded him lightly. “Take care, little brother.”  
  
And with that, the scream went black and slowly faded out of the existence, leaving Danny tired, hungry and completely done with this whole bullshit.


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't exactly hard to get into Vlad’s manor. Danny did it countless times in the past. The tricky part was figuring out the best proportion of invisibility and human form to sneak around all of the booty traps, prepared for humans and ghosts alike.  
  
But for him it was no problem. He’s got experience, after all.  
  
He managed to get to the lab relatively unscathed. Well, some wouldn't consider a bleeding wound on his shoulder blade unscathed, but as a halfa he got slightly different standards.  
  
Vlad was bend over some kind of a capsule, few more of the same kind clustered behind him.  
  
Danny moved forward, his senses already out of the sneaky mode, which in hindsight appeared to be a mistake. He wasn't looking where he was putting his legs and somehow he managed to kick the only wrench in the whole lab lying on the floor.  
  
The sound echoed through the room, alarming Vlad of his entrance.  
  
The older halfa looked over his shoulder, and Danny served him his best impression of deer in car-light. The effect of glowing green eyes added to the imitation.  
  
That seemed to work. On one hand the startled look disappeared, but on the other, Vlad turned fully around.  
  
He hesitated for a second, eyes red from overworking bright with something akin to hope. And then he outstretched his arms, practically running towards Danny.  
  
Before the boy could react, Vlad was hugging him tight, as if his life depended on it.  
  
“It worked,” he mumbled against Danny's neck. “It finally worked…”  
  
“What… what are you doing?” He asked, and it was as if the charm was lifted. In a second Vlad was on arm-length, disappointment clear in his posture.  
  
“Ah,” he sneered, what Danny thought to be his natural state of assholeism turned out to be just a carefully carved mask, now hastily falling into its place. “It’s the original.”  
  
Maybe the Crown had some good influence or something, or maybe the gigantic white “CLONE No6” was too big of a giveaway, but he just know the fruitloop was trying to clone him.  
  
“Yeah, the original,” he said with carefully weighed irony. “Copyrighted, please don't repost.”  
  
Vlad moved back to the capsule. The boy managed to catch a glimpse of white hair, sticking out behind the glass.  
  
“What are you doing here, little badger?”  
  
“I'm sure you can figure it out Vlad. I'm not exactly hiding it, unless you count hiding in plain view.”  
  
That prompted the man to look around once more, the lightning revealing massive bags under his eyes.  
  
“Ahhh, so you took their offer. How did the Observants convince you, saying it's for the greater good?”  
  
“It wasn't the Observants.”  
  
Didn't Fright Knight say he went to ask Vlad? Was it a lie or did Danny just understand him wrong?  
  
“Actually, I was told they didn't want to even ask me.”  
  
That properly anchored the man’s attention.  
  
“What do you mean, they didn't want to ask you? You were the one who took all the beating from the Pariah!”  
  
“Glad to see we've got the same opinion on that one.” Bitterness, clear in his voice, could've rivaled with Vlad’s standard one. “Anyway, you're informed. Now I'll just-”  
  
“What, use your King’s power to forcefully make me one of the good guys?”  
  
“I was going to say go but I like your idea more.”  
  
Danny moved slowly toward Vlad. He was quite intrigued by that superpower, he wasn't aware the King had any kind of mind control over his servants. If he was able to resocialize the fruitloop, maybe he would get one problem out of his hair…  
  
“How would that… Convincing, look like?” the boy asked curiously.  
  
“Do you really expect me to answer this question?” The tone Vlad used was light, but his hunched shoulders revealed the hidden tension.  
  
“I can always ask Fright Knight to tell me.” The boy shrugged, fishing for other nonverbal clues the older halfa might give out.  
  
But then.... Why did Vlad rejected the offer if there was a possibility of mind control? If he controlled Danny, Maddie would come along…  
  
“Why did you reject that offer, again?”  
  
The sudden change of topic visibly startled Vlad.  
  
“Wouldn’t you like to know, eh?”  
  
“I'm serious. You could've used that to control me and convince me to finally be your-”  
  
“I don't want that!” Now it was Danny's turn to get startled at the sudden outburst. “I don't want it to be fake! I want it to be real for the first time in my fucking life!”  
  
The man was turned to him now, his hair wild, his gaze barely containing the sudden rage.  
  
So. The first time Vlad actually swore in front of him. First time he said something genuinely emotional. And it all referring to his desire of having Danny as his son.  
  
He might have a problem. They both might.  
  
But of course Danny Little Shit Fenton wasn't going to address this issue.  
  
“And that's why you've been cloning me?”  
  
Success! He got a light blush! Maybe he was beating some reason into the empty head?  
  
“I can see how it might be seen as a bit of an unconventional method, but consider this: mindless creatures can't betray you.”  
  
It sounded like an accusation to Danny's ears. Why though, for all he knew the fruitloop was the one to betray, not to be betrayed.  
  
“You know, people don't usually go around betraying other people,” he sneered.  
  
Vlad looked at him weirdly, like he saw a ghost. Or maybe not, more like he saw something they weren't in constant contact with…. Not to mention they're both part-ghosts.  
  
“You've never been betrayed by anyone, have you?” He asked with unusual amazement with his voice, like he discovered a new species or something. Danny feared he would take a pad and start taking notes.  
  
“Only by you,” Danny couldn't contain his usual snarkiness. “You know, during that whole thing that got us into this royal problem.”  
  
Vlad turned his back to him again. Wouldn't he get dizzy from all this spinning?  
  
“What time is it?” He asked suddenly.  
  
For all his flaws the fruitloop answered without losing a bit.  
  
“Almost 2AM,” he answered calmly.  
  
“What?!” Danny said in the exact opposite of calmness. “Oh crud, the shield will be up already!”  
  
“Shields?” Oh how amazing, the one thing Vlad didn't already know and Danny just blurted it out!  
  
When he started he might as well finish.  
  
“Anti-ghost shields, mom and dad installed it recently, I didn't get to it yet to modify it so it would accept my ectosignature…”  
  
He would need to go crash at Sam’s or Tucker’s place again…  
  
“I have a few empty guest bedrooms.” Vlad said offhandedly, like he was commenting on the weather. “I was going to spent the night in the laboratory.”  
  
Danny narrowed his eyes. Did the fruitloop really think he would fall for that? It was obviously a trap!  
  
But then… He had some issues regarding trust, and even though he betrayed him once… Who if not Danny should give him second chance?  
  
“You’re not going to lock me in there and keep as your pet son, are you?”  
  
The man was still standing with his back to Danny. Was he afraid to show his face, in case he was being emotional and or honest?  
  
Usually he loved to watch his victims…  
  
“As I already said, I don't want it to be fake.”  
  
He had no idea why, but somehow it convinced him.  
  
Transforming back to the human form, he immediately knew it was a mistake. He landed on his left leg, pain shooting through it, he swayed, almost falling.  
  
He would fall, if not for Vlad’s arm catching him mid-fall.  
  
“Are you hurt?” The man’s voice was still unnaturally soft.  
  
“Fright Knight had to be sure, so he cut me with his sword and then declared he's at my service.” Danny said dryly. He was too tired to try and stay upwards by himself, and he wasn't even sure if he could. That was the only reason he let the man hold him. It certainly wasn't the softenes. Or the weird, illogical feeling of safety. Not at all. He was his enemy, damnit!  
  
And if he fell asleep halfway up the stairs, he believes he transported to the bed via teleportation. Certainly not via Vlad's arms.  
  
(*()*)  
  
In the morning he freaked out a little before his memory kicked in.  
  
He was a Ghost King now, his sister was secured in the Ghost Zone and he spent the night willingly at his archenemy’s house.  
  
And it was a school night.  
  
Just perfect. It was staring out so nicely.  
  
At least he woke up early enough to get to school on time. He's got enough absences as it was.  
  
He made his way out of the bed and out of the room, glad he was still in the clothes he had on when he first came in yesterday.  
  
Though his leg hurt a bit less. Curiously rolling up his pants, he noticed a fresh bandage, different brand than the one he, Sam and Tucker used. Sudden movements awoke yesterday’s wound at the shoulder blade, and a quick trip to the nearest mirror showed him his suspicions were right - it was also bandaged.  
  
He then wandered into the house, slowly trying to find his way out.  
  
Instead he found himself in the dining room.  
  
Vlad was there, sitting at a table set for two, reading a newspaper over his breakfast.  
  
“Good morning, Little Badger.”  
  
The only answer Danny could give was a grunt that could hardly be recognized as a “Good morning” if one squinted eyes.  
  
The boy sat down at the table and choose his breakfast, promptly ignoring Vlad's widely open eyes.  
  
Though it was weird to eat with an audience so fixed on your every move.  
  
“What?” Danny finally asked. “I'm hungry, you've got food; Isn't that what you wanted?”  
  
He put together a sandwich, placing everything he liked in carefully planned order.  
  
“Aren't you afraid,” Vlad said just as he was raising the perfect sandwich to his open mouth, “That something here is poisoned?”  
  
The sandwich fell out of his hand like it burned him.  
  
Before he started screaming in rage though, his sister's words came back to him.  
  
He was a Ghost King now. He was going to behave responsibly.  
  
Eyeying Vlad’s own sandwich, he quickly snatched it and bit into it hungrily.  
  
Vlad was giving him the “I am pretty confident I am hallucinating because that situation couldn't have happened in real life” look.  
  
“What?” Danny said with full mouth, a bit too proud of himself. “You wouldn't have poisoned your own sandwich.”  
  
The perplexed expression shifted into something different, something Danny was sure he never saw on his face before.  
  
And then Vlad started laughing.  
  
Not with his maniacal laughter of successful plan, not the forced laugh of politeness, no; It was a true, genuine laugh, and Danny had to admit it made the man look very un-threateningly.  
  
Danny calmly continued to eat his sandwich, waiting for the Fruitloop to calm down. He never expected a situation like this to occur though. It was weirdly… domestic.  
  
The mere thought startled Danny. Vlad was finishing his laughing fit too, there wasn't much more time left till school…  
  
He checked the clock - it was only 7:40, he's got plenty-  
  
But it wasn't his house. It was Vlad's place. He needed to go first to his home for his stuff, and then to the school...  
  
He quickly stuffed the rest of the sandwich into his mouth, rose and nearly run out of the room, transforming at the run.  
  
Vlad was yelling something after him, but he ignored it, declaring the school more important than whatever the Fruitloop had to say.  
  
(*()*)  
  
Danny managed to get to the class for the first lesson barely three minutes late, which was better than his usual time.  
  
His friends were giving him weird stares, partly because he didn't meet with them in the morning, but probably also because he was wearing the exact same clothes he had yesterday, down to the smudge of blood at his left leg.  
  
No one else noticed anything out of ordinary though, except for Lancer commenting on how early he was, and Danny was immensely glad for that.  
  
Problems started later.  
  
When the break bell ringed, Danny was the first one out the door. He made it to his locker in record time, but when he started thinking he might just get to his friends with enough time to update them…  
  
A hard push showed him into the locker. He hit the metal and bounced right off of it, the proper position of his muscles was already a habit with how many walls was he thrown into each day.  
  
But stumbling backward, he landed on his left leg, the one that was still sensitive even with his speed up healing. It couldn't support his weight and so he fell. He let out a short cry, instinctively hugging his leg once he hit the floor.  
  
That seemed to startle Dash, who looked like he wasn't expect Danny to get hurt. With a quick glance to his surroundings, he was at Danny's side in a flash.  
  
He gripped the leg and rolled up Danny's jeans, leaving no place for arguing. When he spotted the bandage, his face got as white as it. Which was pretty white with some red dots where the blood started to go through.  
  
“Who did this?” Dash asked with emotion Danny never heard in his voice before, but recognized from countless after-battle care from Sam and Tucker - worry.  
  
Dash was worrying about him.  
  
When did his world stop making sense?  
  
“Who did this to you?” the bully asked again, more persistently.  
  
“Why do you care?” Danny's defenses were up, just in case. Was it all a game? A new method of bullying? Making him believe he was safe and then strike?  
  
“Was it Johnson?” Dash’s face was morphing into something more familiar to Danny, the anger he saw nearly everyday as the punches came his way.  
  
He had no idea who this Johnson was though.  
  
“Who’s that?” he asked right then, wishing to put off the beating for as long as he could.  
  
Dash looked at him weirdly. Like he was supposed to know the guy.  
  
“You don't even remember him?” what was that in his voice? Hurt? But why?  
  
“Am I supposed to know him?”  
  
Dash fell quiet for a moment, focusing on the bandage, unwrapping it and checking out the wound.  
  
With not a word he took out a bandage out of his backpack and started wrapping his leg with practiced movements.  
  
Danny was so shocked he couldn't move a muscle. Dash was bandaging him up.  
  
He wanted to pinch himself, he was so sure it was a dream.  
  
“What… what are you doing?”  
  
The boy didn't answered. He finished wrapping the bandage, and checked if it was secure.  
  
“So it wasn't Johnson?” he asked once again, and Danny was growing a bit impatient.  
  
“Who the hell is Johnson?” he repeated.  
  
“Do you remember the first week of school? In your freshman year?”  
  
Danny tried to remember. It was before the accident, he barely remembered anything before he became a halfa.  
  
His blank look must’ve speak volumes for Dash.  
  
“He beat you up?” he tried to help him.  
  
“Sorry,” Danny started to feel awkward. “The only one I remember beating me up is you.”  
  
Dash cringed. It was so unusual…  
  
“What about it?” he still asked, trying to keep the awkwardness at bay.  
  
“Have you noticed how this buff red-haired guy kept bullying everyone but you?”  
  
When the bully pointed it out, Danny noticed it was indeed true. There was a guy matching this description… but he finished the school already, this year actually.  
  
“Yeah, now that you said it…” Danny tried to stand up, struggling to get on his feet. Dash was always at his side, helping him keep his balance.  
  
“Do you know why he left you alone?”  
  
“I don't know, cuz you were already on me?”  
  
“Precisely.” Dash haven't let go of his arm. “He beat you up, and he did not hold back, so I made a deal with him.”  
  
The halfa looked at him with wide eyes. Danny always thought he was getting bullied for nothing. Was he really protected all that time? Nearly two years?  
  
“You… Protected me?” The boy couldn't really comprehend this. A bully who was beating him regularly was doing so to protect him from an even worse bully? Was it even truth? Dash seemed truthful enough…  
  
And the blush that rose on his cheeks seemed sincere.  
  
“I did what I had to do.” He said, weirdly defensively. Then something shifted in his face again. “It wasn't your parents, right? You're not abused?”  
  
Where was he getting all these ideas?  
  
“No, I'm not abused.” He said, a bit exasperated. Then, for the sake of finishing the conversation as soon as possible he added. “I got into a fight.”  
  
“Then you're neglected?”  
  
Seriously, what the hell?  
  
“Why do you even care?” Danny couldn't bring himself to deny. In a way he was neglected. His parents weren't exactly known for being attentive toward their children. Jazz was more of a parent for him.  
  
Dash took it as a confirmation.  
  
“You are! It might seem as better option than abuse, but trust me, it's equally bad! But there's the child help just down the road, a warning from them should help and-”  
  
“Dash, were you abused?”  
  
The lack of an answer or rather the deafening silence was speaking volumes.  
  
“Johnson's style was just too much like his’...” he murmured finally.  
  
Danny had no idea what to say.  
  
“Dash, you were bullying few other people too,” he finally said. “Were you protecting them too?”  
  
That shook Dash out of his little trance. He shook his head.  
  
“I didn't want him to know whom exactly I didn't want him to hurt, so I choose few others as well.”  
  
Alright, so everything Dash did was to protect Danny from a guy who bullied students like Dash’s (probably) father bullied him.  
  
But why Danny? They didn't even know each other before high school! Why go as such lengths for a stranger?  
  
“Why me?” he asked, curious for an answer.  
  
“Because I-”  
  
The bell. Obviously it had to ring in the least appropriate moment. Dash looked spooked, like he only now noticed they were standing on a school corridor.  
  
The boy stumbled backward, nearly ruining to the end of the corridor.  
  
Danny sighed. Of course. He was never going to get any answers this easily, was he?  
  
He rushed to the classroom, not keen on getting yet another detention in the same day.  
  
Well, he came late anyway, but it was math with Lancer, the man already knew that Danny's definition of on time was late under three minutes. Sometimes Danny thought the teacher would be actually worried out he came on time.  
  
Sam and Tucker though. Oh, that was different story. They knew there was no ghost attack. They knew how far Danny's locker was. They knew he wanted to tell them something, the looks he sent them during English were loud enough.  
  
They knew something happened. And Danny knew they weren't going to let it go.  
  
The question was, how much he could tell them before they created some overly complicated, completely unnecessary plan to help him?  
  
He couldn't tell them about Jazz. They would insist on rescue party, screw the whole Plan.  
  
He couldn't tell them about clones, they would want to go destroy them. The clones didn't work though, and why would he destroy the only source of hope for the crazy Fruitloop?  
  
The night spent at Vlad's was out off question too, they would insist he was drugged or something. That would create a reason to raid Vlad's mansion, and that would inevitably lead to discovery of the clones.  
  
So he could tell them about Jazz being away on some conference. He could tell them about Vlad's reason for declining the crown.  
  
He could tell them about Dash. That would be shocking enough to throw them of the trail for a bit.  
  
He hated lying to his friends, but sometimes he had to.  
  
But deciding that took him three minutes at best. Forty more minutes of boring and incomprehensible math to go.  
  
(*()*)  
  
He welcomed the bell both with a relief and stress over the upcoming conversation. He had no doubts that his friends would like to go down to business as soon as possible.  
  
And he was absolutely right.  
  
“What happened, Danny?” Sam asked once the three of them left the classroom.  
  
“Yeah,” Tucker added, and the fact he put away all of his electronics made it clear the talk would be even harder to go through than he anticipated. “You kept sending us those looks all first period!”  
  
Damn it. Damn him not thinking before doing stuff. Damn his sleep deprived mind.  
  
“I talked to Jazz yesterday, before she left for some convention,” he hoped he was subtle enough to let it slip registered but unnoticed. “She told me to talk to Vlad about the whole coronation stuff.”  
  
His friends looked as much on the edge as he anticipated them to be. Him and talking to Vlad? That couldn’t have ended well.  
  
Or so did they think.  
  
“It wasn’t all that bad!” Danny quickly added, before they got any weird ideas to go and beat some reason into Vlad for whatever they thought his reaction was. “We had a civil talk, and he told me-”  
  
“Civil talk?” Sam interrupted, eyeing Danny suspiciously. “Who are you and what did you do to my friend?”  
  
“Yeah, weren’t you complaining about the ‘old, crazy fruitloop’ just yesterday?” Tucker joined in.  
  
So. It would probably take some time. And the break was short. At least it would provide great distraction.  
  
“Seriously, I’m not kidding. I’m a ghost king now, I might as well behave like one!”  
  
“Danny, this is possibly the most mature thing I heard from you since we’ve met!” Sam said, positively impressed.  
  
The boy scoffed. Really? That was the most mature thing? He’s plenty mature, thank you very much!  
  
The bell rung, saving him from having to answer that. It felt like this break was shorter than the last one, somehow.  
  
He rushed to his classroom, leaving his friends with just a vague “I’ll talk to you later!”.  
  
English, math… So it was PE now. Oh great. Another round of dodge-ball, another round of getting thoroughly beaten via the ball. Another round of Dash Baxter’s Special.  
  
Danny wondered if anything would change after the bully admitted he bullied him just because of the Johnson? Maybe it was all just some kind of plot to make Danny have hope and then suddenly take it away?  
  
The lesson came, along with the traditional dodge-ball and ball-beating. But for the first time in the two years Danny was going to that school, Dash Baxter missed that lesson.  
  
That was… Concerning, to be honest. In Casper High there were just two constants Danny knew: awful food in the cafeteria and Dash on the PE.  
  
What was it, the end of the world? Everything was turning upside-down. Danny was the King, Dash missed PE, Vlad suddenly turned into an old, miserable man after getting some context… What next, the cafeteria food was going to turn good?  
  
(*()*)  
  
The cafeteria food… Actually… Turned good? Or as good as cafeteria food can get anyway. They even served quite passable pizza!  
  
The world was truly ending.  
  
“What is going on here?” he asked, sitting down at their usual table.  
  
Sam and Tucker looked at him weirdly, still thinking only about what he had told them about talk with Vlad. Well, as much as he did told them, which is nearly nothing yet.  
  
“Whatever do you mean?” Sam looked at him from above her vegan salad.  
  
That’s right, she was usually bringing her own lunch, she wouldn't have noticed the change. He looked at Tucker, but the boy had his own lunch too.  
  
“The cafeteria food!” he said, exasperated. “It’s actually good.”  
  
“Don't change the topic!” Tucker found some time in between showing food into his mouth hole. “How did the conversation with Vlad went?”  
  
Well, at least now they were invested in that topic? Danny honestly no longer knew if it was good of not so much.  
  
“It went well, just as I said. We talked, he explained why he declined the offer, I left. Nothing extraordinary.”  
  
“Are you kidding?!”  
  
Okay, so maybe giving them only so little information after he spent months on fighting with the old guy wasn’t going to work so well. Maybe he should change the topic?  
  
“I’m absolutely serious,” he said instead. He might have been a little dense, but even he knew a sudden change like that would only pin their attention to the topic he wanted to avoid.  
  
Fortunately for him, Tucker seemed to pick up the vibes.  
  
“You never said what the reason was?” He pointed out.  
  
And in that exact moment Danny realized that Vlad never told him the reason for why he declined the crown. He explained why he didn’t want to use the powers that would come along with it, but he never said why the position itself was so bad.  
  
“He said he was too busy,” Danny finally said, completely aware of how lamely it sounded.  
  
As he expected, his friends eyed him warily.  
  
“Too busy…” Sam said in her ‘I don’t believe you and we both know it’s because your lies are so bad only your dad would believe in them’ voice. “To be a King? The being with absolute power over ghosts, that would practically guarantee him everything he wants?”  
  
“Well, being a Ghost King would hardly score him any points from Danny’s mom,” Tucker chirped in.  
  
In times like that Danny loved his friends the most.  
  
“Yeah, but he would have control over Danny!” Sam still wasn’t convinced. “It’s like, a total win! If Danny was on his side, any plan he cooked up in this shady lair of his would work out!”  
  
“He said he wants it real,” Danny decided to add.  
  
Obviously, she didn’t believe him.  
  
But before she managed to say anything, the bell finally rang. When he was talking to Dash it was a nuisance, but right then it was salvation. He needed some time to get his story together.  
  
“So, guys, see you in the Nasty Burger?” he asked, gathering his tray.  
  
“Sorry man,” Tucker once again got indulged in the digital world. “We’re going to grandpa’s house for the weekend, leaving as soon as the school ends.”  
  
“Aww, that sucks! Sam?”  
  
“I’ve got a floral competition I’ve been preparing for the last few months. I’ll be back Monday morning at earliest.”  
  
Danny considered it for a moment. On one hand, he would be almost completely alone for a whole three days. But on the other hand, that would give him time to put everything together and try to understand the situation he was in.  
  
“But we’ll stay in touch, right?”  
  
Phone communication was good, it gave him a chance to think before he said anything. And even Sam couldn’t detect when he was lying through a message.  
  
The apologetic looks they sent him were a little concerning though…  
  
“I’ll be in the middle of nowhere,” Tucker mumbled like he couldn’t even stand the thought of it. “I’ll be glad if there’ll be electricity to power up my babies.”  
  
Okay, so three days without Tucker. He could do that, after all Sam was the voice of reason in their group…  
  
“The organizers of the competition believe they’re bad for plants. No electronic devices allowed.”  
  
And with that happy accent his two best (almost only) friends left him to deal with his last three lessons completely alone.  
  
Damn it.


End file.
